Sending an 8879

Welcome to SignatureFlow! This guide has been created to assist with sending 8879s to your clients for electronic signature. Please follow the below steps. This is meant to serve as a quick reference guide, and assumes SignatureFlow has been installed and the user’s account has been activated. If you receive any error messages during any of these steps, please check our FAQ section

Click on Send For Signature – the button in the upper left of SignatureFlow

You will see your email address listed above the Signer’s Field. Should you need to send on behalf of someone else in your firm, click From and select the person this 8879 should appear to be coming from

Enter email addresses in the Signer’s Field for anyone who needs to sign the document, other than yourself

IMPORTANT: You are required to have an email address in the Signer’s Field for each and every signer, other than yourself.

If you have more than one person signing, you will enter two email addresses, separated by a comma or semicolon

When two signers are sharing an email address, you will need to enter the same email address in twice, separated by a comma or semicolon

Enable Knowledge Based Authentication (KBA): KBA is required by the IRS for e-signatures on all 8879s. If the KBA check box is greyed out, please contact your Firm Admin to enable it firm wide

Click Require Authentication to view the KBA check box

Check the KBA check box

Enter any messaging that you would like your client to receive

Attach 8879 and enter Required Report Information

You can either drag and drop 8879 or click the Add button and browse out to find and attach the 8879

You are only able to add and send one document at a time. Should you need signatures on multiple documents, you can either send them separately or you can combine them into one document before you add them into SignatureFlow

Select Document Type as well as any other Required Report Information

Click “Continue to Signature Placement” (located in the bottom right corner of your screen) and enter required information

You will then be required to enter in a PIN Code for them. This PIN Code is the last four of your Primary Taxpayer’s SSN. If a PIN Code appears, this taxpayer is already in your system and you can click “OK” to continue

For more information about why this PIN Code is required, please watch this short video

Once the PIN Code has been entered and you’ve clicked “OK”, your document will move on to the processing steps. A web browser will open and you should see your document on the screen

Once the document has been processed and you are able to see the 8879 on your screen, you can assign signature locations for each signer

In the Select Participant box, located in the upper right corner, you will see your primary tax payer’s email address (the first email address listed in the Signer’s Field)

Scroll to wherever on the 8879 where that person need to e-sign

Drag & Drop Signature Box into that location

You can drag and drop as many signatures as are required throughout the 8879

If you would also like to add a date, you can access that by clicking on the Signer Info Fields across the top and dragging and dropping the Date Box

If this 8879 is for an individual, click Send – You’re finished!

If this 8879 is for a taxpayer and spouse, you will need to click the spouse’s email address from the Select Participant drop down (if the couple is sharing an email address, the spouse’s email address will be differentiated by a 1 in parentheses)

Once that email address has been selected, follow the same instructions given above for dragging and dropping Signature Boxes and Date Boxes